Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to baby powder

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $72 million to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer last October was linked to the company's talc-based products, including its flagship baby powder. The woman said she used the products for more than 35 years for feminine hygiene, Reuters reports.

A St. Louis-based jury concluded that the pharma giant should pay a combination of compensatory and punitive damages to the family of Jackie Fox. A lawyer for Fox's family accused Johnson & Johnson of "lying to the public, lying to the regulatory agencies" about the risks of talc-based products.

Johnson & Johnson's baby powder has been on the market for more than 100 years. But in recent decades, some scientists have suggested a possible link between talc and ovarian cancer. It has been suggested that the powder might be carcinogenic if the powder particles traveled into the ovary. But the research is still ongoing.

"We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial," Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, said Tuesday in a statement to Bloomberg News. "We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."

RELATED: Warning signs and risk factors of breast cancer

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Warning signs and risk factors of breast cancer

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Johnson &amp; Johnson must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to baby powder

Risk factors of breast cancer: obesity

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Risk factors of breast cancer: lack of exercise

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Risk factors of breast cancer: alcohol use

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Risk factors of breast cancer: an unhealthy diet

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Risk factors of breast cancer: smoking

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Common signs of breast cancer: a breast mass that is hard and/or irregular

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Common signs of breast cancer: changes in the skin of the breast such as puckering, irritation, scaling, dimpling, redness or thickening

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Common signs of breast cancer: swelling of all or part of the breast, even with no specific lump

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Common signs of breast cancer: enlargement or swelling of the lymph nodes in the armpit area

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Common signs of breast cancer: nipple discharge, that is not breast milk

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Common signs of breast cancer: nipple retraction, which looks like a turning inward of the nipple